Aggressive ticketing? Hard to say, according to authorities

Police officers on the Intercounty Connector issued about 10 speeding citations and warnings per day during the past three months, according to data from the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The 18-mile tolled freeway is patrolled by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who enforce laws around the state at sites such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the World Trade Center in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Sgt. Jonathan Green, public information officer for the MDTA Police, said it was difficult to tell if the number of speeding tickets issued on the ICC could be considered high or low because many factors influence traffic.

“The reality is, it’s a unique environment,” Green said.

Weekday traffic on the ICC averaged about 22,000 trips per day in December, according to MDTA data. That exceeded MDTA’s projected number of trips, 20,598. From October through December, 887 citations and warnings were issued for speeding on the ICC.

Few roads compare to the ICC in the Washington, D.C., area. On the 15-mile Dulles Toll Road in Virginia, about the same length as the ICC, traffic numbers are higher.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesperson Rob Yingling said about 100,000 tolls are registered on the road daily. Drivers are tolled twice if they enter the road from the Beltway, then take an exit; they are tolled once if they enter the road through a ramp and then take an exit. Individual vehicle traffic is not measured, Yingling said.